46664: A night to remember
2003-12-01 08:13
Cape Town - This is difficult to describe without getting soppy or corny. I honestly felt that Saturday night was one of the most
important nights of my entire life.
I have spent years going to gigs and concerts all over the world, interviewing celebrities both nationally and internationally but I have to say - nothing comes close to the 46664 concert.
I still remember, as a kid, being blown away by
the emotional intensity of Live Aid, Bob Geldoff's
initiative to help starving Ethiopians in 1985, in which
Queen also played a major role.
That was a once in a lifetime gesture of gigantic proportions pulled together by the true legends of the era. And its global impact was undeniable.
On Saturday night, in our very own Cape Town, 46664 was another
Live Aid. I don't expect to ever see anything like that
again in my lifetime!
46664 was Nelson Mandela's prison number during his 18 year
sentence on Robben Island. In the same way that he was
reduced to merely a number for all those years, he has
'donated' his prison number to this campaign against HIV
and Aids so that millions of others may not be reduced
to numbers in the death toll count.
Madiba set out to communicate his message to the world in
the most powerful way possible, through entertainment and
music through some of the most popular music icons the
world has known.
His message was extremely loud and the show broadcast to more than two billion people worldwide. The artists intentions were very clear and the show was a music spectacular aimed very definitely at communicating the important message. It could easily have become self indulgent but it seemed that artists knew why they were there and were sincere.
Brian May and Roger Tayor of Queen, Dave Stewart, Annie
Lennox, Beyonce, Youssou N'Dour, Johnny Clegg, Beyonce,
Bono, The Edge, Anastacia, Ms Dynamite, Peter Garbriel,
Paul Oakenfold and Angelique Kidjo were just some of the
artists performing to get the message across.
Not to sound like a preacher, but get your face off this
webpage and go to www.46664.com and pledge one minute of your
life. I am doing it.
"A tragedy of unprecedented proportions is unfolding in
Africa. Aids today in Africa is claiming more lives than
the sum total of all wars, famines and floods and the
ravages of such deadly diseases as Malaria. We must act now
for the sake of the world. Aids is no longer a disease it
is a human rights issue." - Nelson Mandela
Some of the highlights
I bawled my eyes out during three separate occasions. The first
was obviously during Nelson Mandela's speech! Bigger than
the biggest sports or music icons in the world, Greenpoint
Stadium could not stop roaring for his every word as he
spoke.
One might have expected a frailer Nelson Mandela,
but he came on with his usual energy and he
delivered a powerful speech with deadly conviction. Bob
Geldoff had referred to him earlier as the one man in the world that nobody could refuse which was "the reason that everybody was here".
The second was during the Queen medley. Hearing Brian May's
incredible guitar sounds and Roger Taylor's drums coming
out at 150 million decibels made me long to see Freddy
Mercury on stage again. Even though all of the artists
joined in during these parts, there is was only one Freddy
Mercury ever.
The third was during U2's performance of One, dedicated to a young boy who had lost his life to Aids the day before the concert. Bono always knows how to hit those heart
strings.
Other highlights were Ms Dynamite's acapello song about
women protecting themselves called, Don't Throw Your Life
Away, apparently written earlier that day.
We will Rock You, performed by Queen with Anastacia got
the crowd into near hysteria chanting the chorus so loud I
thought the stage was going to collapse.
Beyonce was truly incredible. Her duet with Bono which I
think will be getting released pretty soon is going to
number one!
Jimmy Cliff singing I can see clearly now was another
favourite that brought the house down.
Johnny Clegg was his usual fantastic self. Ladysmith Black
Mambazo also made a huge impact on the audience. Peter
Gabriel was awesome too.
Make sure you buy the DVD or watch it on MTV on Monday
(World Aids day). But before you do, go to www.46664.com
and pledge one minute of your life.